Perhaps the opposite. Per Jewish teaching, women are “born circumcised,” and are therefore under the Covenant from the beginning. It is only men who must be “fixed.”
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Genesis 17:7 (NIV)Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.
Genesis 17:13 (NIV)Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Genesis 17:19 (NIV)
The Hebrew phrase “brit olam” (בְּרִית עוֹלָם), means “everlasting covenant,” and it shows up three times in Genesis 17. It is a promise of relationship: “I will be your God, and the God of your descendants.”
The first time we see brit olam, it’s when God says He will not destroy the world by flood. One symbol of the flood is the rising of darkness and chaos, so this covenant gives us hope.
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
Genesis 9:16 (NIV)
After God’s brit olam with Abram in Genesis 17, the next time we see it is in Exodus 31, where God gives us rest as an everlasting covenant.
The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.
Exodus 31:16 (NIV)
From this, God tells us: Rest. Be still. Remember.
So these are the words of God’s everlasting covenant with us:
“I will not harm you.”
“I will be with you.”
“I will give you rest.”
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
Genesis 17:1 (NIV)
There is so much depth in the Hebrew names of God, and the English has a hard time capturing it succinctly.
Yes, “El Shaddai” means “God Almighty.” But it also means so much more.
Shaddai is a word that has several meanings. The root is assumed to be SH-D-D, related to power, force, and destruction. The related Hebrew word “shadad” means to devastate, ravage, or plunder.
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
Proverbs 11:3 (NIV)
The scriptures use this word as power against unrighteousness. Divine judgement.
But some scholars suggest that the root of “El Shaddai” may be something else. Focusing on the last part of the word (dai), the Hebrew meaning becomes “sufficient” or “enough.”
Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
Exodus 36:6-7 (NIV)
In this, they see El Shaddai as:
The God who is self-sufficient.
The God who is enough.
The God who says ‘it is enough.’
And it’s from this third name (The God who says ‘it is enough’) that we arrive at this teaching that says “with the name יְהֹוָה (I AM), God creates the world and it expands; with the name אֵל שַׁדַּי (God Almighty), God stops the expansion, so the world is contained.”
As the rabbis explored this name, they also saw something special about this covenant of Genesis 17.
Abram was already given a promise of land and progeny in Genesis 15; this new covenant can’t seal those two things which were already unconditionally promised.
So what is new?
God uses this Hebrew word “olam” four times in this chapter, which means “everlasting.”
It’s not the first time the word shows up. Previously, God mentions the “everlasting covenant” with all humanity after the flood.
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Genesis 17:7 (NIV)Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
Genesis 9:16 (NIV)
But what’s different here is this promise of **relationship.**
In Genesis 9, God promises not to destroy the world by flood, but in Genesis 17, God promises to always be Abram’s God and the God of Abram’s descendants.
But this is conditioned on circumcision. An outward sign.
This is the nature of relationships: It has to go both ways. God is not merely “out there” keeping the universe from flying apart. He’s right here, desiring intimacy with us. He wants us to be whole hearted with Him as He is with us.
And if we will not? If Abram refused?
The rabbis see something else in the “sufficient” part of El Shaddai: Perhaps God says if we will not participate with Him, then there is no point to any of it. The world could end in fire and God will still be holy and have kept His word: “shadad = destroyer.”
To be “self-sufficient” is to need nothing. God can do it all himself.
And yet… God desires to engage the world with us, through us, in relationship. He wants us involved. He loves us. Though He is self-sufficient, God *wants* us.
To love God back is to respond.
In this way, our “works” in response earn us nothing. It doesn’t save us from fire or elevate us in righteousness. It is purely the manifestation of relationship: to be circumcised is to dedicate ourselves in relationship. To be circumcised of heart is to belong to God.
There is another meaning of “El Shaddai,” and it is tied to nurturing. It is the word “shad,” or “breasts.”
… because of your father’s God, who helps you,
because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,
blessings of the breast and womb.
Genesis 49:25 (NIV)
In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses his sons, and “shaddai” and “shad” are tied together here.
And there is both a meaning of blessing of progeny and of comfort, like a mother holding her child against her body. Nurturing. Compassion.
El Shaddai cares deeply for you.
All of this in a name of our God: mighty, sufficient, nurturing, compassionate… for us. For you.
Come and meet my God.
Look closely at Genesis 17:1.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
Genesis 17:1 (NIV)
This is the written name of God: יהוה
This is God’s words to Abram: “and be…:” וֶהְיֵה
It is a reflection: Yod Heh Vav Heh -> Vav Heh Yod Heh
It’s strange and probably incorrect to say that “God is circumcised,” but there must be something about the act or the state of being circumcised (and thus the spiritual application of being “circumcised of heart”) that is tied to the identity and nature of God.
The rabbis even say that all 613 of the Jewish laws fall below circumcision.
Abram means “exalted father.”
Abraham means “father of nations.”
Sarai means “my princess.”
Sarah means “princess,” without the confining “my” possessive.
But perhaps we are meant to look at the appearance of the names as well:
The name of God has two “hey” (ה) letters: YHWH (יהוה)
Abram (אַבְרָם) to Abraham (אַבְרָהָם)
Sarai (שָׂרָי) to Sarah (שָׂרָה)
God gives this portion of His name to the first of His people. Their names/identity come from His, as though He has set His own mark on them.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
Genesis 17:1 (NIV)
The phrase “and be blameless” fails to capture the weight of this phrase in Hebrew. Some render it “and be perfect,” which is closer, but it can drift towards an incorrect meaning of “without sin.”
That is not the meaning at all. It means “be whole-hearted.”
It is connected to “Love the LORD your God with all your heart.
The rabbis point out that it’s even more than that. It’s tied to living out being the image-bearers of God, not as a passive state of existance, but as an intentional act of divine movement into the world.
Being an image-bearer doesn’t merely mean looking like God in appearance, but in action. God is Light, and we are the little lights. We’re told to shine in this dark world.
But this can only be done with our whole hearts devoted to God, cut separately for His purpose.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
Genesis 17:1 (NIV)
Prior to Genesis 17, God has been identified by His Name, which speaks to perpetual presence: I AM. ALWAYS.
But when God seals his covenant with Abram in Genesis 17, the earth must have shaken.
I am EL SHADDAI. I am GOD ALMIGHTY!
And Abram threw himself on his face.
The rabbis say the most profound thing about these two names of God.
The correct interpretation of the divine names is as follows: Shaddai is an adjective describing God’s power over creation. The Tetragrammaton, God’s revered and awesome name, stands in contrast to it. The world exists by virtue of these two names.
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 17:1:1
1. Exceedingly old people being told they’ll have babies: That’s rather weird.
2. God institutes a covenant through circumcision: That’s even weirder.
3. Abram gets his name changed to Abraham, and he is instructed to start calling his wife by a different name as well. That’s just completely bonkers.
Could you imagine if your spouse did that?!